Simon Cowell has revealed the REAL reason he fell down the stairs and ended up in hospital last year.

The X Factor judge was stretchered out of his London mansion by paramedics last October, and at the time said hed fainted on his way downstairs to the kitchen, while his little son Eric was at home.

Speaking six months after his accident, Simon confessed it came as a “wake-up call”.

Speaking to the Sun, he said: “Im OK now. In a way, it was a wake-up call. It wasnt the end of the world – but a bit embarrassing.

“If Im honest with you, I was probably over-tired. I feel better this year than I do this time last year.”

Simon, 58, went on to praise the doctors and nurses who helped him with his recovery.

He said: “I will never hear a bad word about the NHS.

“You have an MOT when that happens. They do every possible test, and there was nothing wrong.”

And he said hes taken steps to change his work-life balance and improve his health, by cutting down on meetings and ruling out the majority of his late-night calls.

Simon was found slumped at the bottom of his staircase by bodyguards – whod heard him fall – around 8am on October 28 2017.

They immediately called emergency services and paramedics arrived soon after.

Having initially been reluctant to move him because of fears hed broken his back, they eventually took him to hospital using a special spinal board to keep his neck and spine in place.

Once Simon had been taken to Chelsea and Westminster NHS Hospital he was given a brain scan – known as a CT or computerised tomography – which checks for blood clots, tumours, internal injuries or signs of aneurysm.

Simon, who is known to be a heavy smoker, also underwent MRI scans on his neck, back and spine to check for any signs of injury.

His girlfriend Lauren Silverman was forced to rush home from New York when she heard about Simons collapse and was said to be distraught.